The Bay Area

I couldn't believe how cold the Bay Area was! California always makes me think of sun and warmth and people with fake or real tans. But SF/Oakland didn't seem too much warmer than blustery New York. Of course it was actually a lot warmer, but I don't think I was dressed appropriately in a t-shirt and a thin jacket.

I was exhausted on my way to SF. I probably had frog eyes and a swollen face from my last hurrah in New York. Thanks to everyone who came out and humored me through my drunken stupor - especially when I couldn't control the volume of my voice in the diner, post-drinking.

SF was exactly the stop I needed before heading any further away from home. It was a moment to catch up with old friends, eat good food (I mean really good food), and sleep. My amazing hostess Kim let me do just that by stuffing me with fresh, delicious grub (every meal was memorable), and letting me sleep and sleep and sleep.

We started off the weekend with a really entertaining and informative tour through a chocolate factory which wasn't unlike Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. If only the pipes running along the ceiling were clear so the sweet dark brown liquid could be seen traveling above our heads! Oh, and there weren't any Oompaloompas. What a disppointment. The tour seemed pretty rehearsed, but there were moments of genuine enthusiasm from our guide, like when she passed around a sample of chocolate made from cacao beans grown by Japanese farmers in Brazil. This particular variety, called Tome-Acu, is grown in the Brazilian Amazon and is considered to be the closest in flavor to what the Mayans may have cultivated and consumed. Did you know that the first substance to be served to the public was theobromine in the form of chocolate (not caffeine in coffee or tea) in London back in 1657? Good stuff. Check it out: Scharffen Berger

After a little amuse bouche(s) of chocolate samples, we had dinner at the very fresh, very reasonably priced Pizzaiolo in Oakland. The chicken liver pate crostini was my favorite as well its castmates on the Winter Antipasti plate - hearty lentils and verdant kale. Runner up was the papperdalle with a really tasty chicken and pork ragu. Yum!

The next day, we had a homemade brunch and a walk through the colorful neighborhood of Mission. For dinner, we had a meal that always makes me feel at home - a Korean feast at Brothers in SF. But I have to say, the highlight of the meal was not the food. The highlight was watching Toronto Alex suddenly turn into a human vacuum, silently and methodically sucking up every last bit of meat off each rib, reaching across the 6 person table for the untouched banchan, and asking me if I was going to finish my oxtail soup. After having witnessed Alex eat 3 normal portioned meals more out of hunger and necessity, he was a sight to behold. He ate like it was his last meal. I guess you can take a boy out of Korea, but you can't take Korea out of the boy. We left reeking of kalbi, a scent I couldn't get out of my jacket until I did a load of laundry in Honolulu.

The rest of the weekend was filled with more sleep, more great meals, prolific chats, unexpected adventures and an unplanned trip to Berkeley Bowl.

Many thanks to Kim, Kirk, Alex, Meej, and Chinaka & Nate for the right start to my adventure that filled the tummy and the soul. ;) I left SF fully sated.